


Tumbling into Beds

by LizRambler



Series: Sleepovers [17]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizRambler/pseuds/LizRambler
Summary: Rose knows the Doctor is hiding/holding something back from her.
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Sleepovers [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531835
Comments: 21
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

Tumbling into Beds

Rose slipped into her flat, shoes in her left hand, sonic in her right. She hadn’t bothered with the key. She was so tired, she was afraid she’d drop it, and wake the Doctor. It was well after four in the mourning. The Doctor had been up late but would be deeply asleep by now. She had texted him every hour to let him know she was okay. He had been consulting via text as soon as she had him up to speed, sending snippets of advice but after a while, he’d run out of suggestions so she had just updated him periodically. She stopped after one, knowing one of them should at least attempt to get some sleep.

Not that she wouldn’t have preferred to have him with her. The mission had gone sideways too fast for Rose to get the Doctor on site. Mostly, because she, Jake, Pete, and Kate had been transmatted to the Carmine Hoard’s ship negotiation. The Hoard had wanted fuel to continue their pilgrimage to the outer edges of the known universe. On-screen they had been terrifying with large multifaceted eyes and ant-like bodies with pointed claw tips. In-person, they were the size of terriers. Jake had nearly lost a hand when he tried to pet their queen. The Doctor had never heard of them but he had known a species similar to them in the original universe. He’d uploaded an update to their translators over his mobile making negotiations much smoother and offered solid ground support. He had told them not to pet them no matter how tempting it was. “It’s human nature to try and pet everything, Rose,” he’d texted not two seconds after Jake had attempted it. Rose had snorted. 

Stripping out of her jacket, Rose tossed it towards the hook, missing by a mile. Shrugging, she unhooked her bra with a deep sigh. It was good to be home! Although things had been a bit weird the last few days. The Doctor kept looking like he wanted to discuss something with her then backing down. She knew it was against his original nature to tell her anything important, ever, at all. But since getting a healthy dose of Donna’s DNA in the meta crisis he had been much better about it. She’d asked Donna about it. She’d shrugged said, “He’s a weird, gangly alien, what do you expect? Probably sad about them not having Holly Oaks here, I know I AM.”   
Yawning, she guessed old habits died hard or regression was real or who cared? She was knackered! If he gave her the sad all-knowing Time Lord eyes tomorrow, she’d smack it out of him or shag it out of him or both.

The battery was at 2% on her phone. She debated letting it go flat as she checked on Reggie and Leah. The two hedgehogs were snuffling around in the dirt eating bugs. She checked their water. Looks like the Doctor had topped them off before going to bed. She made faces at them. Reggie’s soft pink glow lighting up the inside of the vivarium. “Magical alien pets,” she murmured, fondly.

Rose dropped her sonic in the bowl next to the Doctor’s other spares. She grabbed a bottle of Vitex and downed it. The Doctor only stocks Strawberry, Strawberry Banana, and Coconut. Rose had chosen Strawberry. She slipped into the en suite and rubbed at her tired face. She had purple smudges under her eyes. Her hair was limp. She shucked her clothes and washed her face. A set of her cotton pajamas sat on the sink waiting for her. “Bless him,” she murmured, dressing, and brushing her teeth simultaneously. Rinsing, she looked away from her tired face and toward the man snoring in bed. “What are you hiding, you adorable alien nutter?” 

He answered with a thick honking snore. Rose bit her hand to keep the giggles from escaping. The Doctor had his glasses half off his face, lying on his back in a t-shirt with a Chibi Cthulhu on it. Rescuing his glasses, she dropped them onto his nightstand. She also reached under him to pull out a trashy romance novel. “Why does my mother keep encouraging this?” she asked, recognizing the book as one Jackie Tyler had recommended to the Doctor over Sunday tea. He was on her side too, cheeky man. Rose climbed in on his side. The warmth of their bed was a siren song to her aching muscles. Rose slipped her arms around the Doctor, spooning him. The link between them lit up with contact. She allowed his sleepy mind to pull her down, down, down, down into dreamland.

“Rose,” a warm rich voice called. 

She knew that voice. She liked that voice. Not now. Not when she was sleeping. She grumbled. 

“Yes, well, I see how it would be rude of me to wake a sleeping Tyler but...Rose...I’m not...not exactly. Well, I am interrupting your REM sleep. No, not interrupting so much as joining in! You’re still resting. Still getting all those lovely little logs sawed. Come on Rose, please. Open your eyes.”

Rose’s eyes snapped open. It was dark in her bedroom although she could see everything as if it were lit from below or within. Next to her on the bed was the Doctor. Not...not her blue pinestriped one. This one was the one in the velvet frock coat with the lovely auburn curls. He had rested his head on his hand, watching her with his ocean eyes.

“That’s better!” he crowed. “There you are Rose Tyler!” He booped her nose.

“Are you in my mind?” Rose asked. Everything seemed solid around her although maybe it was too sharp, too HD for reality. His soft smile begged for a smile in return. She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t think the Doctor would like you sneaking into my mind.” Rose sat up, pulling back to look at him. Fully dressed in soft gray trousers, dress shirt, waistcoat, and cravat he looked exactly like the hero in one of the Doctor’s trashy novels. His green velvet frock coat was missing. Rose spotted it in the background where the bedroom met the console room, thrown casually over an armchair next to a small table with tea service set on it. The scent of Earl Gray drifted off of him along with the familiar Tardis and Doctor-y scents.

“Oh come now, surely he wouldn’t mind all that much. I am him after all,” he scoffed. “Besides, we’re in my mind!” the Doctor out of his Frock Coat exclaimed cheerfully.

Rose arched a brow.

“We are!” he insisted, sitting up. “Just beyond my Tardis, over there are all of those pesky previous regenerations of mine. Doctors all of them...All possibly would die of jealousy to know you’re spending your REM sleep with me.” He beamed. “Let’s not tell them you’re here just yet. I’d like to have you all to myself for a moment.”

She leaned against the headboard. Her bedroom was complete behind her. Ahead of her it seamlessly transitioned into the Tardis console with the wood her wood floor color blending into the lighter floors of his Tardis. A wall of drawers covered one wall. His Tardis hummed in amusement, the central column crystals lit up blue and white. 

“I didn’t,” she motioned like the Doctor did when he wanted her to touch his temples for this purpose.

“No, you didn’t,” he agreed, looking smug. “I did! Easy enough to move his fingers around when he’s dead asleep. Not piloting, not technically against the rules. Bending them a bit, yes. Wildly inappropriate, also yes. But strictly, speaking it skirts those rules. And now I have your undivided attention! How wonderful!” He rolled out of the bed, grabbing the tea tray. “Two sugars? Splash of milk?”

Bemused, Rose nodded. He handed her a delicate china cup. Tiny pink roses and greenery danced around it in the vague shape of a wolf. Rose sipped. The Doctor rejoined her on the bed with his own cup. “Why did you want my undivided attention?”

“Oh, that’s easy, because you wanted me to want your undivided attention,” he answered, using a small spoon to stir his heavily sweetened tea. “Now, don’t get upset with your subconscious desires. It’s not their fault you wanted to talk to me or maybe it is?” He shrugged. “This is nice! Before the Timelords caught up with us, Charley and I often did this.” 

“Shared a bed?” Rose asked. This Doctor had mentioned a Charley Pollard before. She had been Edwardian? And blonde. 

“Yes.” The stormy look on his face hinted at Charley’s fate. Rose reached out to touch his cheek. The storm clouds drifted away. “Why don’t you dream here more often, Rose?”

“Doctor, I tend to fall into bed, in exhaustion.”

The Doctor smiled at Rose. It was lovely having her all to himself. His previous self, the patchwork coat one had her all to himself entirely all too often and had even absconded in the current Doctor’s body! The cheek of it! The utter disappointment that it hadn’t been him! Lucky for him, he had been tinkering in his Tardis, whistling a sea shanty he’d learned when he had been on his own after Grace had told him no. It was strange. No one ever said no. Well, rarely ever said no. It was a strange feeling...rejection. Weird thing to remember while he was singing about drowned men. That had driven him to a time for a tea break since his memories had trended downward. He had just managed to get the pot filled and steeping when Rose’s scent drifted through the room. Hm. 

He had known the Current Doctor was sleeping. He always knew. A peaceful feeling would suffuse the very air of their mind. It had stopped many a fight between him and the other ones. That feeling had been joined by a little tingling along the bond like a beam of sunlight in a cold room. Rose had gotten into bed. Rose had gotten into the bed and the Current Doctor was sleeping. He had tapped his fingers on the console. The Tardis had chimed a warning. “I’m not doing anything wrong.”

The Tardis had grumbled.

“Like what? Go and pull her in here? Oh, I could do that! He’d never know. He’d think it was a dream…” He had tapped harder, his left foot getting in on the tapping action. “That’s a splendid idea! You always come up with the best plans!”

The lights had flickered in annoyance. 

“Oh, you want to see Rose, don’t you? After all, this was your suggestion! You had to know as soon as you thought of it, I would act on it.” The Doctor had slipped into the area where the Current Doctor slept. The bed had appeared on the platform where the consciousness was linked with the body. “Stop fussing,” he had told his still complaining Tardis as he had climbed onto the platform. “It’s a simple matter of puppeteering.” 

Because she was touching him, the Doctor had been able to see a golden outline of approximately where she was lying in the bed. Grabbing the current Doctor’s hands-he had realized the current Doctor was deep down several layers farther than the Frock Coat Doctor-he had moved them to Rose’s temples. “Contact,” he had whispered like the naughty Time Lord he was...

Rose had appeared in the bed near his Tardis. The Doctor had raced over there to hop into bed with her and now here they were drinking tea. Maudlin's mood dodged. She was eying him up with amusement. The thing about his mate that was so hearts-stoppingly adorable was that she enjoyed it when the other personalities circumvented the rules to visit her. She loved it and them. He basked in her amusement. It felt wonderful and pinged against him in delightful blue sparks. 

“You know how the Doctor feels about this,” she remarked, and yet she smiled.

“Oh him,” the ‘normally wearing a frock coat’ Doctor scoffed. 

Rose’s tinkling laughter filled him full of light. “You are so busted. He’s gonna know.”

“We better make the best of it then.” He slipped into her personal space. Gently, so she could pull away from her if she liked, he offered her a light kiss. She giggled against his lips. She let him have a few delightful presses and one eensy snog before placing a hand between them. Her cheeks were pink. Her emotions were pinker. Smug he let her go. “That, Rose Tyler, was worth getting locked up in mind prison for a year.”

Rose ran a hand down his chest, patting him. “You brought me here to stroke your ego?”

“Hmm yes… Well, no, don’t distract me! I brought you here because I’m an opportunist.” The Doctor went back to his tea. “Besides, you had to know I’d show up sooner or later. You’re using my sonic screwdriver. Not the others’. Mine.” He gave her a heated once over. “You summoned me.”

“Like a genie? Strange lamp,” Rose remarked. 

She was so clever! “You’re so clever! Little turns of phrase, puns, clever insults… I am devoted.” 

Instead of smiling, Rose let out a little sigh. The Doctor, ever attuned to his lovely mate, reached out to touch her cheek. “You believe me?”

Rose nodded. “We’ve been together a year.”

“Not yet,” he said. “We’ve been together three hundred-sixty days. Not a year, not yet. Is that an important amount of time? Humans mark things in years, don’t they? Anniversaries, and birthdays, and bank holidays, and every odd Thursdays and boring old Sunday roast with mum and the like? Have I forgotten to get you flowers? Unforgivable! I can suggest it. Whisper it in his ear.” He manipulated the bed to surround her in wildflowers. “Or…”

“Don’t you dare make it rain chocolates…You’ll spill your tea!” Rose said, grabbing his hands, nearly knocking his cup.

“Why are you worrying about things in dreams? It’s imaginary, Rose. It can’t spill. It’s my memory of the perfect cup of tea.” He turned the teacup over and nothing dribbled out. He tossed the china and it vanished. “It was made for me by Jo Grant on an odd Thursday on Mars. I can drink anytime I want. Rose, it’s a dream. I can give you anything you want here. You are my guest.”

“Why though? Why tonight?” 

Exasperated, he asked, “Why not tonight?”

Rose Tyler laughed, a lovely, wonderful thing sending all sorts of lovely sparkling emotions through him. Oh, to be tangible! He pulled a canna flower from the ones around him and presented it to her. She accepted. 

He acquiesced saying, “Sometimes I’m quite mad. Tonight I am sane. Hello.” 

Rose ruffled his curls. “Maybe I’m worried about you.”

“Why? I’m reasonably sane most of the time. A little bit of madness never killed anyone. All of the best people are mad, you know.” 

“Yeah, you do look a bit like the Mad Hatter in this,” she reached out and tugged on his cravat. “I meant the current you, well all of you. You’re hiding something.”

“Am I?”

Rose watched the past incarnation of the Doctor as he mulled over the idea that he might be hiding something. Thoughts seem to swirl around him like little minnows. He huffed out a breath. “No,” he answered his own question. “I’m not hiding anything. I think I'm waiting.”

“For what?” she asked as the flowers vanished from his inattention. Mindscapes were like that, malleable and mercurial. Rose would never get used to it. Especially here in the Doctor’s mind. His Alice in Wonderland quote was apropos. 

“That’s a nice thought,” the Frock Coat Doctor commented. “I do so enjoy the writings of Lewis Carroll. I met him once. Strange man. But religious for my tastes. I told him that story about the Walrus only he wasn’t a walrus exactly… more of a Mentor, nasty creatures. Still…” 

“Doctor,” Rose grumbled. “What are you waiting for?”

“Oh, Rose Tyler, what am I forever waiting for? The right time of course! Now, enough about me. Let’s talk about me. Grab your sonic. Let’s teach you how to use the thing properly…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna has a good morning. Another guinea pig has gone missing... I don't really advance the plot too much in this one.

Donna was going to be late, not that the Doctor would care. She had stopped for a coffee for herself, a tea for the Doctor, a bag full of pastries for the Doctor, and a chocolate croissant for herself. The skinny, spotty teenager gave her a raised eyebrow. “I’ve got a boss with a thyroid problem,” she shared. “Can’t keep weight on. Skinny beanpole. I swear his elbows could be registered as blades. Probably blow away in a strong wind.” She waved to the bag of pastries, shaking it a bit for emphasis, “trying to weigh him down. Public service, y’know. He’s a genius but never tell him I said that.” 

The kid finished adding the whip cream to her coffee. “The Doctor’s your boss,” she asked.

Donna grinned. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

The kid slipped two muffins into another bag and handed it to her with her drink carrier. Donna nodded her thanks since her hands were full. Luckily, a tall handsome man held the door open for her. As Donna approached, she realized the tall drink of water was Gavin from the Trion contingent. They were on Earth to make first contact. As Donna went through, she couldn’t help but notice that Gavin smelled incredibly manly. She offered him a smile. “Thanks, Gavin.”

“Do I know you?” he asked, his voice rich and thick, copper eyes twinkling.

“She works with the Doctor,” the kid behind the counter offered.

“Noble! You are the Doctor’s wife?”

“No, no, no, never,” Donna retorted.

He lowered his voice so the kid couldn’t hear, “but the informational packet said humans designate marriages by the surname? Is that not correct?” Gavin’s perfectly manicured brows tipped upwards.

“Familial association and that info packet is out of date, like the 1950s… He’s my...cousin, my cousin. Single, I’m single.” Donna made a mental note to update that packet herself.

Gavin absorbed the information with a little smirk. “I see. I remember you now, I saw you at the first meeting,” Gavin beamed showing straight white teeth with only slightly pointed canines. His hair fell down his back in ceremonial braids with gold bands around the bottom to secure them. “I’d buy you a coffee but… it appears I am too late.”

“For today,” Donna agreed, “tomorrow though, you might be a bit early.”

He beamed. “What if I am here earlier tomorrow?”

“Then you might be on time,” she told him before continuing out the door. 

“See you tomorrow then,” Gavin said to her retreating back. She hoped he was looking at her bum.

Minutes later, she was inside BigBen. She had waved at a few of the secretaries on her way to the clock. She had to hip check the door open like she did every morning before using her keycard to get onto the elevator. She hit the button. Nothing happened. The Doctor had disabled the elevator again. Rolling her eyes, she got out and headed up the stairs. She reached the top and stared at the rotating lock on the door. She’d have to put the stuff on the ground to do the weird calculations. Before she could, the light went on as the Doctor buzzed her in.

“I got you a lot of sugar,” she called out. “The kid in the coffee shop is a real fan.” Donna walked over to the table the Doctor kept clear for food/drinks. She set the pastry bag down and his tea. She couldn’t see him. 

“Thin girl? Long dark hair? Or the young guy with blue hair?” the Doctor asked from somewhere behind the Tardis coral. “Nope, no, nevermind it’s Wednesday. It’s Janey! She does like me.” he sounded pleased. “She’s a talented knitter. We trade patterns…”

“Gavin was there,” Donna added.

“Hunky, tall drink of water from Trion, Gavin?” he asked, appearing to take a pastry out of the bag. Munching, he arched his brows, his tone gossipy.

“Who has called him this?” she demanded.

“You, when you were talking to Rose and ignoring me. I like gossip too, Donna Noble,” he admonished.

Donna shrugged off her purse and placed it in a drawer. She settled into her desk and sipped her coffee. “You do, don’t you? Got that from me.”

He frowned, “Gossip, shopping, shoes, no red hair.” he said with a sigh as she fluffed hers out teasingly.

The Doctor was in a sleek gray suit today with a delicate silver pinstripe. He must have a meeting with someone somewhere. This was one of his ‘pretending to be a normal person’ suits. Even his oxford shirt was a plain white and his tie was around his neck and not hanging from one of the coral’s branches. “Who are you meeting with today?”

Grimacing, the Doctor snapped his fingers for sugar packets. One day she was going to make him eat his fingers for snapping at her but today she was glowing from her good flirt with Gavin and potential coffee date. 

“With R&D. “Someone stole another guinea pig. I’m the obvious candidate. They really don’t like me down there. Pete’s arranged an intervention. Rose says I have to go and pretend to listen or care...I tried to get out of it but she did the thing with her eyes.”

“Looked at you?”

“Yes.” He sighed, grabbing another pastry.

“Wait? Another? I know you took one,” Donna said.

The Doctor puffed up with self-righteousness. “How dare you, accuse me, a Time Lord of petty larceny! I’ll have you know that--!”

Donna arched a brow, pointing toward the paper drawer where she knew he had hidden a guinea pig.

He deflated, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Right. Well, I didn’t take the other one.” Embarrassed, he tugged on his ear, looking at a point above her left shoulder. 

Donna smirked. She loved being right. She was right and she had a coffee. She also had a potential date. It was turning out to be a great day and it wasn't even nine. She thought about having coffee with Gavin. Donna paused. Gavin was an alien. Was he all humanoid? What if he wasn’t? What was that like? What if they went on several dates and it glowed or something? Best check with her best friend and resident alien.

“What’s it like dating another species?” she asked, feigning a breezy casual tone.

Taken aback by the lack of segue, he scratched at his throat, considering. “Shouldn’t you ask Rose? Human to human or something?” 

He glanced at the coral or behind it, probably itching to bound away and go back to his experiments. But Donna had his attention for once and she was going to get the info. “Yeah, I could. Probably should. God knows you never answer a straight question. But she’s an alien to you, so the same difference and you are here,” Donna told him. “I’m assuming everything matches up with the two of you? You said it did...before once. When we were talking that time before.”

“I remember.” 

“Is that normal?”

He made a face considering. “What?”

“You and Rose, I mean you’ve said you do things the normal way but you’re not…”

“Not...what?” he tilted his head as he munched. Oh, he was going to make her say it! Donna growled. “What?” he repeated.

“Are most humanoid species… compatible with one another?”

The Doctor considered it. She watched him crack his neck and shake it out. Ugh. he was going to ramble when she wanted a simple ‘yes; or ‘no.’ “A number of bipedal species are compatible enough for sexual intercourse… Most humanoid-your term, not mine-which is pretty arrogant of you lot to name a form my species had first-Ooooh you want to know if you and Gavin…” his voice got pitchy, “match up.”

Donna’s face heated up. “Answer me.”

“Yes?” He popped another pastry into his mouth. “The form is fairly universal,” he said around a mouthful, “efficient even. Of course with my people, everything was mostly vestigial because of the looming. Plus there was the curse of Pythia, and Rassilon being a huge prude, and my species tendency towards asexuality...Honestly, the lot of us were like pandas. Couldn't be bothered...erm with all…” He made a lewd gesture with his hand then blanched, “Forget I said that last bit.”

“Which bit?”

“All of it, except for the first bit...” No, no way was she letting go. Not when he’d said what he said, implying what he had implied. 

“Vestigial? What like a pinkie toe? Or a tailbone. Poor Rose...” Donna schooled her expression to one of pity. 

“No, no, no that’s not. It isn’t…” The Doctor’s ears were pink. 

“You said…” She teased, enjoying his discomfort.

“It isn’t…” He sputtered. 

“Isn’t…” she pressed.

“Small. It’s--Rose said for a human it’s…” He continued to sputter.

“Well, Rose, she loves you,” Donna continued to needle him, “she’s going to say that isn’t she.”

Rolling his eyes, he disappeared behind the coral. Point to Donna! She snorted. The ego on him! She heard him muttering before her grandfather said, “No, that’s above average, son.”

“Wilf?” she called out, walking around the Tardis coral to see the room had been expanded. Her grandfather was sitting in a chair with a guinea pig in his lap and a metal contraption on his head. The Doctor was smirky. Donna roared, “What are you doing to my grandfather?”

“Not talking to him about your potential sex life, that’s for sure,” the Doctor muttered and Wilf snorted. “We are experimenting! Before you got here and started maligning me, Wilf and I were testing a theory, weren’t we?” 

“I don’t know about that. Doc. So far I’ve just been sitting here holding onto this fine animal. And here she’s eating hay, so she’s not experimenting at all…” He ran his hand down the back of the little guinea pig who let out a rumbly purr. 

“Oi! You’re not running experiments on my grandad.” Donna grumbled.

“He’s fine. The helmet is an amplifier. Trying to see if the Tardis can translate guinea pig for Wilf. He’s not telepathic but you are bit and I’m wondering if it could be triggered or… boosted.” The Doctor turned on a bunch of panels behind him.

“You’ve expanded the room again.”

“Yep,” he agreed and his eyes glazed over like they did when he was talking to the Tardis. “Now, concentrate. What does the guinea pig want?”

Wilf concentrated. Everyone fell silent except the guinea pig who continued to munch on hay. After a minute he shrugged. “Nothing. ‘Ere, kick it up a notch.”

The Doctor turned a dial. “Anything?”

Wilf shrugged. “No, sorry.”

Donna heard a small voice say, “Mmmm hay. Hay. Good. Mmmm.” She stared at the tiny animal in her grandad’s lap. “Are you talking?”

“Me?” Wilf asked at the same time the guinea pig said, “More hay, please? And an apple slice.”

“That guinea pig is talking!”

“No, she isn’t… well not English anyway. The Tardis is translating for you. Nothing Wilf?” The Doctor asked and Wilf shrugged. The Doctor shut off his machine. “Well, hm, I thought maybe it was something in the DNA. Maybe not. We could always try a chemical catalyst?”

“Is that like a lightning bolt?” Wilf asked.

“Seriously, the guinea pig asked me for more hay and an apple…”

The Doctor nodded. “Yep.” 

“Doctor? Do you still need Wilf? Only, we need him downstairs to start prep for the lunch rush,” Jackie’s voice drifted in.

The Doctor made a face, grabbing the guinea pig, and dropping her into her drawer. He closed it, before grimacing, pulling it back open and adding an apple slice. “No, no, no, Jackie Tyler you know better than to come up here. Don’t touch anything!” He bounced out to meet her.

Donna helped Wilf take off the helmet. “How did you let him talk you into this?”

“Thought it’d be a laugh and it was…” Wilf took her hands and swung them. “Never a dull moment ‘round him and you, sweetheart. “Sides, talking to animals? That’d be a treat. We could get a little dog…”

“We can still get a little dog,” Donna said, pulling him to his feet. 

“So, you like that big strapping alien, Gavin?” Wilf asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. We just flirted a little bit. S’nothing.” She smiled at him.

“You deserve to have some fun, Donna.”

“Wilf! Get downstairs!” Jackie called.

“That’s me off…” Wilf and Donna left the expanded area and back into the main lab. 

Jackie was arguing with the Doctor. “The least you could have done was bring the cat. I’ve talked to him on the phone but here would be better,” the Doctor was saying.

“My son is talking to cats and you want me to take them out in public? They’ll make me get him a therapist. I’m not having any of that. I’ve already got one always in the tabloids for dating you. I’m not having the other one branded a nutter.” Jackie was in her whites for work, her hair up and pinned back. She smiled when she saw Donna. “Oh, Donna, will you explain to this one that talking to cats isn’t normal.” She patted Wilf as he slipped past her saying, “Be a dear Wilf, and make sure Emily doesn't burn the rice again.” He saluted, vanishing out the door. “And you, fix that lift! I’m not having a heart attack going up and down all that when you’ve got a perfectly functional lift.”

The Doctor sighed. “Yes, Jackie, fine, alright.”

“Don’t you yes me to get rid of me, you alien plum,” Jackie slapped at him. “Come round tonight and see the cat at the house, alright?”

“Dinner?” he asked.

“Yeah, ‘course.” Jackie beamed.

The Doctor nodded and Jackie hugged him. He sputtered but Donna was on to him. He hugged Jackie back and smiled when she couldn’t see him. “Stop fussing,” he said into her hair as he gave Rose’s mum a squeeze.

She rolled her eyes. “See you later, sweetheart. Bye Donna!”

“Bye.” Donna stuffed her hands into her pockets. 

The Doctor rushed forward to close the door after the exodus. “Busy morning,” he complained.

“Can I understand squirrels now?” she asked, settling in at her desk. 

He went back to the pastry bag. “Hm? Maybe. The Tardis isn’t mature enough to do full translations of complicated languages. She’s testing herself out with less complicated languages like cat, dog, squirrel, birds, ants maybe.”

“Is that normal for Tardises?” 

He glanced around the room, locating his cup of tea. He had set it down on his own dark wood desk. Donna sighed at the mountain of napkins, pastry bags, receipts on his desk with words across them. She despaired of ever getting him to write in a notebook. There was one, right there, under the gum wrappers with circular Gallifreyan on them. He plucked it up, sipping it before dropping down into his own leather chair. He shrugged glancing up at the Tardis in question. Her branches were covering more and more of the ceiling. The ambient glow was almost enough to leave the artificial lighting off. “Never grown one before. I’m keeping notes. Seems normal for her.” A huge yawn escaped him. Talking through it, he added, “who knows? She’s healthy and that’s all that matters.”

“Stay up late?” 

“No,” he answered with another jaw cracking yawn. “I slept for six hours! I should be wired. Felt like my dreams were off living their own lives.” He wrote a note on the teacup and a formula underneath it. “This could be something.”

Donna crumpled up her pastry bag and tossed it at him, “Notebook!!!”

Rose and Pete stood waiting outside of R&D. Pete was glancing at his watch. “He has ten minutes,” Rose reminded him.

“I want to get this over with. He can’t keep aggravating my team down here.” 

The long hallway was empty. Neither one of them wanted to leave the safety of the hallway and enter R&D without the Doctor to take the brunt of their ire. The gray rug tiles under Rose’s feet were hideous. She glanced at the white walls and sighed, “It’s depressing down here. We should have made them meet us in the conference room C. At least it has a nice window.” she complained.

“Right, relax, honey. I’m not firing the Doctor no matter what this lot says. A few of them might even get transferred to Torchwood 4. I’m starting to think their methods are not working with our team here. We need new blood. We need…”

“People who don’t want to turn everything into a death ray?” Rose added with snark.

The Doctor appeared. Rose felt him before she saw him. She couldn’t explain it to anyone if asked. When he was near her something inside lit up with warmth. He was in the suit she had suggested and had even fixed his tie. He beamed when he spotted her, moving swiftly forward to shake Pete’s hand. “Jackie says we’re coming over for dinner.”

“Are you?” Pete smirked. “Did you have a choice?”

“Do I ever?” the Doctor quipped. He let out a yawn. “Sorry.”

Rose frowned. “You alright?” Had his previous self disrupted the Doctor’s sleep by entertaining her? He’d been up and at work before she’d woken up this morning. He had laid out her briefcase by the door with her purse and keys on top, plugged in her phone, and left her mug with a teabag and the correct amount of sugar in it on the counter. 

The Doctor bobbed his head. “Suppose I didn’t spend enough time in REM sleep. I’ll fall asleep in my chair upstairs after we’re done with this lot.” 

“Wonderful, love to hear that one of my employees is sleeping on the job,” Pete said, “Come on, let’s deal with the other scientists.”

“I didn’t take that second guinea pig,” the Doctor said earnestly.  
Rose bit her lip.

“Does that mean you took the first one?” Pete asked.

The Doctor’s voice pitched up as he asked, “Shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where is the second guinea pig? Hm?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out who took the second guinea pig and get closer to the Doctor's secret.

The Doctor was bored. R&D had been taking all their frustrations out on him for the last twenty minutes, and forty-seven seconds without breath. At first, he had stood there like a good little soldier and taken it. But, well, after five minutes, he walked up a chair and sat down on a long metal lab table. Rose sighed, making no move to correct him. She had a glazed look in her eyes by that point. 

The guy who had hurt Donna’s feelings--Harvey? Hank? Henley?--seemed to have an endless list of grievances. Apparently, they were upset about him removing the power source from a crashed Krillitane ship before it blew them all to Kingdom come. “Yes,” he said sharply, cutting him off, “Well, next time I’ll think twice before I keep you lot from destroying the Earth with your incompetence.”

Pete puffed out a breath.

The scientists.. Inky, Blinky, Clyde, and Sue all started shouting. He’d had enough of it. Walking off the table, down the chair and to the floor he spun to face them. With a wink to Rose, he shouted, “Fingers. On. Lips,” imbuing it with a not so subtly telepathic command. They fell silent with fingers on lips. “Good. That’s good. Pete?”

Pete acknowledged the Doctor’s deference with a hint of a smirk. “Right, we’ve heard you. I will of course look into equipment shortages and all of the written reports on this matter. I have heard from you. Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I have a few notes.”

Hiram--? Hart? Whatever his name was, the strapping well-dressed man stepped forward. “What about our lab animals?” Harry! His name was Harry!

“Doctor, did you take their guinea pigs?” Pete asked in a tone that reminded the   
Doctor forcibly of how he talked to Tony.  
“I didn’t take two guinea pigs from R&D,” the Doctor responded truthfully. He’d only taken one. Take that, a win for semantics. He grinned brightly at Harry, showing teeth. What a relief it would be when the Tardis was ready! Having a job was so… well, it wasn't half bad except for the bureaucracy. He cut his gaze to Rose who was nibbling her bottom lip as if she were guilty of something. What could she be…?

“Alright, if that’s everything?” Pete asked the crowd. Not that he was listening, the elder Tyler was already halfway out of the labs. The Doctor was quick to follow. The air was cooler, and fresher in the hall. The door slammed shut on the scientists’ faces. Pete grumbled, “Thank Christ that’s over. Doctor, stop stealing their guinea pigs.” He opened his mouth to protest. Pete held up his hands. “And I will ensure the animals’ good health until we can come up with an alternative to animal testing. Deal?”

Not trusting himself, the Doctor nodded. Rose caught his hand, the warmth of her mind going a long way to soothe his ruffled feathers. She dragged him along to her office. Once inside, she locked the door and leaned against it. 

“Rose, I am a Time Lord. I am not about to be dressed down by those people in Research and Development. I respect your father but I did not abscond with another guinea pig. My people are solving dimensional maths while yours were hunting with pointy sticks… It is humiliating.”

When Rose didn’t placate him, he frowned. Arching his brows, he watched her burning with curiosity. She put her finger on her lips, walked past him and opened her desk drawer. Inside was a fat orange guinea pig with a white crest. His eyes were rheumy. He had missing patches of fur. “Rose Tyler, you thief!” 

Rose hissed at him, “what was I supposed to do? He was crying! It’s your fault I can hear animals. He asked for help. I had to help him.” 

Rose and the Doctor headed to the canteen to get some much-needed caffeine. The Trion contingent was there with Kate. She was in the center of a rousing game of dominoes with Gavin, Breena, and Mer. The Doctor made a beeline for Donna who was using a magazine to spy on them. He sat on the table and took her magazine. 

“Give it back, Panda,” Donna growled.

“Panda?” Rose asked, sitting on the bench like a normal person. The Doctor blushed. Uh oh, she’d missed another in-joke. Donna smirked. The Doctor took her tea in retaliation. She squawked, slapping at him. “Behave before we have to go to another meeting. Cor, that was so boring. Did you have to inspire them?”

“First time for some of ‘em,” he remarked flagging Jackie down. She waved him off. “She is going to bring me tea, isn’t she? What’s that gesture mean then?” He asked as Jackie stuck her tongue out at him.

“Leave it, she’ll bring it over.” Rose held up 3 fingers and Jackie nodded.

“How was the dressing down?” Donna asked.

“Honestly, they had the real thief there the entire time and yet she let them have a go at me, the innocent hybrid,” the Doctor moaned, reaching out to grab her hand, tangling their fingers. The warmth of his mind swirled around hers. 

“AH, you took the other one,” Donna slapped the table. “Good. R&D is full of…” Donna trailed off, her gaze on the Trions. Rose followed her gaze. Gavin smiled. Donna smiled back before slapping a biscuit out of the Doctor’s hand. “You had a bag of pastries this morning.”

“Superior metabolism,” he remarked as Jackie appeared with a plate of sandwiches, tea, and more biscuits. “Hallo Jackie. Thanks!”

“No pickles for you, pickles for Rose, and more biscuits for Donna since I know you’d be at ‘em. You’re a child,” Jackie told him as she handed him a tea that was no doubt made to his exact specifications. The Doctor and her mother shared a grin. Rose was never going to be used to their new friendlier relationship. “Rose, ‘ere, love. Don’t eat too much. Himself agreed to come round and talk to that cat.”

“Kevin,” Rose corrected. “Tony’s cat is getting translated by the Tardis. So, he’s a lil’ Doctor Dolittle now,” she explained to Donna.

“Well, he,” she pointed a thumb at the Doctor, “had my grandad all wired up trying to get him to listen to a guinea pig’s thoughts,” she said, “and now Wilf wants a little dog.”

Rose grinned. Jackie had a cuppa with them, discussing the menu with the Doctor. Rose and Donna took the opportunity to hand Rose one of her biscuits. 

They made it home a little after eleven. The Doctor had taken both guinea pigs and put them into the expanded part of the lab. He made sure they were hidden behind a perception filter. They could see and talk to one another but he kept them separate so he wouldn’t have forty-two guinea pigs in a matter of weeks. Speaking of procreation… He had a conversation with Rose to have. He’d been putting it off. Rose had noticed.

He wanted to have that conversation out of the way soon because it was coming up on a year and he was running out of places to hide the ring. Rose even had a wedding dress hidden somewhere at Jackie’s. All he had to do was propose and if Rose said yes, that would trigger the wedding planning. He swallowed. That was going to be--a whole thing. But first, he needed to share some results of his genetic and medical testing with her. More specifically, he had to discuss her results and since he hadn’t asked before he had taken samples to do the testing, he wasn’t sure his information wouldn’t come with a big lecture on privacy, health and safety, and general rudeness.

Rose flipped the sonic in her hand and tapped the kettle. The water boiled instantly. He frowned. “How did you learn how to do that?”

She turned pink. “You showed me.”

“No,” he argued. “That setting isn’t one that I’d shown you yet. It’s one I don’t even remember that sonic having…” He reached out and plucked the screwdriver from her fingers. “You’d have to use telepathy to...oh. That’s why I’m tired.” His Eighth self had taken it upon himself to educate Rose on the use of his sonic. He rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t suppose you mentioned to him that I don’t approve of their interference in our lives?”

Rose slipped out of her blazer, kicking her shoes off. “I might have mentioned it, yeah.”

He sighed. “And…?”

“He’s you,” Rose remarked with a shrug as if that explained it all. 

“I don’t like…” the Doctor began, frustrated with the fact that his other selves were entirely too independent for his liking. Rose stopped him with a kiss. Distracted, he allowed her to push him up against the wall. Her hands slipped into his hair. His heart sped up as his brain dumped a lot of distracting hormones into his body. Rose’s pheromones increased exponentially. Her mind buzzed against his.

Trying to stay lucid, he protested, “They’re not supposed to be able to do any of the things they do…”

“They’re you. Impossible is just a word to you. Less talking. More kissing.” Rose unbuttoned his oxford, his tie had disappeared right after the meeting. A giggle escaped him as Rose’s mouth kissed down his throat. 

“What if they’re not me? What if I’m just a nutter with multiple personality disorder?” he asked, his hands helpfully undoing the buttons of her blouse. “What if…”

“We could always clone you and pop each personality into a new body,” Rose offered as she slid his oxford off and slid her cold hands under his vest.

“Nope, they’d all want to be with you.” He pushed her blouse off and slipped his hands to her skirt. “And you...you’d never turn the Doctor away.”

“Mm so many Timelords for me.” She grabbed his belt loops and dragged him into their bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, this series is still going. Insane since it was supposed to be 5 stories. lol. Enjoy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna flirts. The Doctor talks to himself. Rose gets some bad news.   
> This probably should have been two parts but I wanted to get back to the fluff... Teensy bit of angst in this one.

The others had told him it was a matter of gently puppeteering the current Doctor. Then, you got to talk to Rose. He slipped out of his Tardis and into the center where the current Doctor lived. The feeling of peace that suffused their inner world gave away that the Doctor had retired for the night. He drifted closer, luckily he was one of the smarter incarnations and had plimsolls instead of loud thumping boots or strange rubber things or noisy dress shoes. It made him remarkably sneaky. Leaning over the headboard of the Doctor’s bed, he was shocked to see two bright brown eyes staring up at him. “Oh, hello,” he stammered.

“Yes, hello,” the Current Doctor said, popping up onto his knees to lean over the headboard. He eyed the Doctor. “No cricket pitches available this evening?”

“I rather like the cream look,” he replied, “and my stripes are cheery.”

“My pinstripes are also cheery,” the Current Doctor remarked, glancing down at his blue striped pajama bottoms. “You weren’t trying to contact Rose by any chance, were you?”

The Doctor huffed out a frustrated breath. “I may have...been interested in a chat with someone other than myself. Besides, it’s not fair how much time the others get to spend with her. We hardly know one another. And I… thought it couldn’t hurt.” He knew he was digging himself into a hole, so he rocked back on his heels, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He was not going to sulk. He was a timelord. It was unbecoming. “I don’t see the harm.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” the Current Doctor said. He hopped off the bed, his clothing switching to the brown pinstripe suit and tie. “Doctor, when you lot stay up with Rose, you exhaust me.”

“Oh, do we--?” the Doctor was shocked. “How--? We’re not strictly speaking much more than dreams. Why would that, how could that affect you?” 

The Current Doctor arched a brow. “You tell me. Why are you lot so active?”

He made a face. “I...don’t...know.”

Running a hand through his shock of ridiculously messy hair, he puffed out a breath. “Do you--do you remember being this aware of them when you were, I’m sorry, is alive the right term?” he asked, leading them away from the bed with a touch to the Doctor’s arm. “What I’m asking is, is it normal for you lot to be so active and independent? Or am I, this version of me…”

“Unhinged? I really don’t know,” the Doctor said, allowing himself to be led back to the familiar memory of the Eye of Orion. The positive ions hit his system like a massage. His other self walked to the edge where he stared out. The Doctor stood next to him. They regarded one another. “Are you worried about us?”

“Nooo, nah, nooo, well, yes,” the current Doctor scratched his throat. “Not because you seem evil or off or anything other than your amusing selves. It’s just, it’s not normal, is it? You all in here vying for Rose’s attention? Able to take over my body when I’m asleep or distracted. I don’t remember that happening ever in our lives.”

“Nor I. When I was you, there was me,” he tapped his head, “in here. Oh, the other memories were there but they were wrapped in oilcloth. Covered in film. I could access the information and the memories of the emotions but I wasn’t… like I am now in you.” He gave his other self a sidelong glance. “You don’t seem to have gone mad.”

“Yeah, yes, well, you’re one of the voices in my head, so not too sure what we should think about your opinion in this case. No offense,” he said with a shrug.

“None taken. I take your point.” 

“Rose said that you thought the regeneration felt different this time.” The Current Doctor made a face for that, probably because he remembered a few times when he had said that. In his defense, he had regenerated into his rainbow self all distorted from the poison. But it had felt different. He had felt filled in and filled out and somehow more solid. He nodded his agreement. “I wonder what it means for me--?”

“Maybe you’re looking at it all wrong, Doctor,” the Doctor told his counterpart. “You’re thinking that this is a sign of something bad to come, a breakdown of spirit or mind or soul or whatever. What if it isn’t? What if it’s a gift?” the Doctor asked and at the Current Doctor’s scoff, he added, “No, listen. What if, and stay with me for a moment, you utilize us, instead of shoving us away? Listen listen, listen, those memories wrapped in oilcloth--I had them but they were old and stale and hard to access. With your memories, we are quite literally living. And another thing, you are alone--”

He balked. “I’m not alone! I have Rose, and Donna--”

“Yes, you have a lot of friends who are human. They’re wonderful. Humans are fascinating, curious, loving creatures. But we’re Timelords. There are things a human can never understand about you, your time sense, your abilities… you are unique. Except for us.” The Doctor watched his counterpart absorb that information. “We are more active in you. Maybe because of your creation. Maybe because of the extra-human DNA. Maybe… Maybe… But it can be a gift. Like this… this is the Eye of Orion almost as real as your bedroom because of my mind in yours. My memories, our memories made real.” 

“Oh, I know I loved being you for a reason,” the Current Doctor said. He rolled his large brown eyes. “I could just be going insane because this is all impossible.”

“Yes,” he agreed affably, and grinned, “but you love impossible things.”

“I am going to marry an impossible thing,” the Current Doctor remarked, thumping the Doctor on the back. They grinned at one another. 

“Yes, when are we proposing-?” 

“Ah, we have a few things to talk about first,” the Current Doctor said sheepishly.

“Hm.” He arched his own brows.

“Don’t do that, no, no, no, you married her off to me Gallifreyan style without even warning her. I want to warn her first…”

“About marrying you?” The Doctor snorted.

“No, no, well, no. Shut up. Humans have talks before they seal deals. They discuss important things like children, pets, and mortgages, and common goals…”

“Sounds exhausting,” the Doctor said with a laugh.

“C’mon, I’ll go get Rose for you. But,” he put a finger into the Doctor’s face, “Not too long. I need some sleep.”

“This is a dream world. I should be able to spend a hundred years with Rose in an eyeblink. Why does it exhaust you?” 

They walked along the grass, taking large lungfuls of the clean ionized air. The sky overhead was the perfect shade of blue. The Doctor watched his current self relax as the atmosphere did its job. “I have no idea. The amount of things I don’t understand about myself could fill an ocean.”

“How is that different from any other day for the Doctor?”

The small table could barely contain the bulk that was Gavin. Donna sat across from him in her best black trousers and a shimmery purple top that showed a hint of cleavage. She leaned forward. The big man gave her a toothy grin. “So,” she drawled, “Gavin, what’s a date like on Trion?”

“We arrange our matches,” Gavin said, sipping his mocha latte. “My father would talk with the parents of a potential match. Then we would meet. 

“Sounds old-fashioned,” Donna replied, “not that there’s anything wrong with old-fashioned. But what if you met someone independently of your family? Do you ever date freely?”

Gavin grinned. “Is that what humans do?”

“Keep it down, you tall drink of hot cocoa,” Donna purred, “with the ‘human’ stuff. Don’t want the general public to know how special you are.” Gavin leaned forward. Donna mirrored him.

They grinned at one another. The Doctor plopped down between them with a bag of pastries. They both retreated to stare at him. “Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?”

“Yes,” Donna said through her teeth.

Gavin laughed, standing up. “I must go. Thank you for the coffee, Donna Noble.”

“Oh, Gavin, no, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Stick around. I’ll buy the next round---oomph!” Donna’s elbow connected with his ribs. Hurt puppy dog eyes landed on her.

“It’s fine, Doctor. I have some research to do on human courting rituals,” he gave Donna a flattering once over. The Doctor’s brows went up. Donna waved. The Doctor mouthed, ‘mating rituals?’ 

“Goodbye Gavin,” the Doctor said with a jaunty salute. “Sorry, Donna.”

Donna eyed him until he squirmed. “You numpty.”

“Yes,” he agreed. “Still, mating rituals eh? Seems like he might be interested.”

Donna relaxed, leaning back against the wall. “Yeah, well, I am charming.”

“Aw, you are, you’re adorable, ow! Stop hitting me!” The Doctor opened his bag of pastries. “I’m starving.” The Doctor looked twitchy. Donna sat back to regard him. She waited...4...3...2… He squirmed. “What?”

“You tell me, alien boy, what’s with the,” she waved her hand in a vaguely squirmy gesture, “and you never come into the coffee shop in the morning. I do. I bring us pastries. You eat them. We have a system whereby you do the later afternoon run.” Donna arched a brow. “I’m right, aren’t I? You are up to something. That’s why you had to catch me before I went into work. And that’s why you were too busy thinking alien thoughts then noticing me having a good flirt over here with Gavin.” She crossed her arms.

“Yeah, again, sorry about that,” the Doctor made a face, “could we keep a lid on the ‘alien’ thing though. Not trying to get vivisected over here especially if your friend Horatio in R&D figures out I’m not quite…” he walked his fingers across the table.

“Ambulatory--?”

“No!” He lowered his voice, “human.” 

“Nowhere on Earth is that the symbol for human,” she argued.

In a frustrated huff, he sat back, running a hand over his face. “Will you listen?”

She arched her brow again. “I. Am. Listening. This,” she twirled a finger around her face, “is my listening face.”

He held her gaze for several seconds as if he could win a battle of wills with her before cracking. “Can you...be late for work?”

“Yes, done. I am already late for work.” Donna sighed. The Doctor sighed. “How late?” she asked, relenting.

The Doctor slapped his black card onto the table.

“Wow. That late?” She put her hand over the card and slid it to her side of the table. “And may I ask why it is that you need me to not show up to work at all today?”

“I need to discuss the results of the genetic and medical testing I did on all of us,” the Doctor began, ruffling his hair.

“Why not discuss it at home if you need privacy?” Donna asked, sipping her coffee and debating on whether she needed a new hat or several new hats and maybe one of those tufted ottomans that were all the rage? Wilf could use a few new shirts.

The Doctor grimaced. He waved for her to lean in. Donna did, sliding his card into her purse as she did. When he was close enough for her to smell the sugar on his breath, he whispered, “Because...every time we are home alone together, we have sex. Good sex, great sex...fantastic sex actually...”

Donna burst out laughing. 

“I can’t get a word in edgewise,” he complained. 

“Poor baby.” 

Rolling his eyes, he stood up. “Fine. Make fun. But I need to get this out in the open, so I can propose. I’m tired of hiding the ring in a new spot every day. And her mother is breathing down my neck, so…”

“What-? You are finally going to do it? Can you wait until next Thursday?” Donna had Thursday in the pool. She stood to win a cool 400 quid. 

“What-? Why? No...maybe. Listen, go buy Wilf a little dog. I’m off. I told Rose to meet me in my lab in...five minutes ago.” He waved off her calls about him being a rubbish Timelord. Cackling, she pulled out her phone and called Wilf. “Looks like Jackie’s going to win the pool.”

“Aw, can you talk him into Wednesday? I was going to buy a little dog with my winnings,” Wilf complained.

“Where’s the nearest shelter?” Donna asked him. “Meet me there in an hour?”

Rose settled into the Doctor’s chair. She had the fat orange guinea pig in her arms. The Doctor was late for work. Rose had been here for over two hours in negotiations with the Trions about ambassadors and then with Ireland over the Aquatic Silurian settlement. She was ready to go home and he hadn’t even gotten here yet. In fact, Donna was late too. Donna was never late. She checked her phone. No messages. She ran a hand down the little ginger pig. The rumbly purr. “Well, he wouldn’t be the Doctor if he were on time.”

The door opened. “I heard that,” he said, breezing into the room. He took the guinea pig and dropped a bag of pastries into her lap in trade. He returned the little guy to his drawer with a whisper and a cucumber slice. “I was getting you pastries. And a tea. Plus, I was convincing Donna to take the day off.” 

Curious, Rose accepted the tea he handed her as he grabbed Donna’s chair, snatched a clipboard off of his desk, and sat in it, rolling himself in front of her. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Rose smiled. He looked well-rested but squirrely. His fingers were twitching. “What was so serious that you had to get rid of Donna?”  
“I wanted privacy.” He flipped through the sheets on his clipboard.

“Then why not at home?” Rose asked.

“Tried that and you snogged me half to death,” he replied with a toothy grin. “So, I thought I’d be safe from you here.” She tore into a croissant. His eyes flicked to her teeth and lips and he sighed. “Safer from you here.”

“Out with it,” Rose demanded. “I had a tough morning. I think I need to know if you are about to make it tougher.”

“Rose Tyler, why so pessimistic?” He booped her nose. She slapped at him and he caught her hand. “It’s not bad. It’s information. Well, you might be angry about how I obtained it. I ran medical scans on you, me, Donna, and Tony… then later I expanded to Jackie, Pete, and Wilf.”

“The whole family? You stole the whole family’s DNA? Does Donna know?” He flushed with guilt. “Donna knows.”

“She doesn’t know the results. She ah, caught me with her hairbrush. Doesn’t matter. Well, it does. Donna reminded me that it is unethical to steal DNA.”

“And illegal.” She reminded him.

“And illegal,” he agreed. “The tests were genetic, basic medical, and some Timelord stuff.”

Rose let him keep her hand. The presence in her mind warmed up as both the Tardis and the Doctor made themselves known. She wondered what she needed all the support for--? “Am I dying?”

“Woof, you are in a mood, aren’t you?” the Doctor exclaimed. “No. You are not dying. You are fine! Well, you are better than fine. We all are. We maintain our Tardis-boosted immune systems. Our health is perfect! So, that’s not an issue.” The Doctor said, looking away.

“What is an issue?” Rose was getting a bad feeling. “You said it was information, jus’ information but you are acting like it’s more than that.” He squeezed her hand and a little trickle of affection floated her way. 

“Rose, it’s fine. Honestly, it’s fine. Two things came up. One, your lifespan is extended.”

“How extended? Oh, god, am I like Jack? Am I going to live forever? I don’t want to be alone…”

“Pfft, you wouldn’t be. I’d figure out a way to stay with you. I’d adapt my DNA...doesn’t matter. It’s not that long. It’s a couple...dozen decades.” He let go of her hand to rub at the back of his neck. Rose felt a hot wave of shock. “S’fine, Rose. I’m, I’ve got...a matching lifespan.”

“And my mum?” Rose felt panic welling up. She was going to live too long. She was going to see them all die, her mum, her dad, her brother.

“Fine, normal. Funnily enough, her genetics do reflect the lie she tells everyone. She is genetically forty. Probably gained a decade somewhere along the line. It’s not a problem, Rose. Donna will be around. She’s extended a bit too. Blimey, I should tell her that. It’s good! We’ll get to travel together longer! And you’re still normal. Still all lovely and human. You won’t ever be alone. Plus we have the insurance box to keep me with you anyhow.”

Rose took a few deep breaths. “Might need a minute, yeah?”

He nodded. Flipping through his pages. As Rose digested her longer lifespan. This would have been a miracle if she had stayed in the other universe. But now when she was living the normal life... “It’s not definite. It’s based on your telomeres.”

“Okay. What else? You said there were two things?” Rose’s stomach melted the croissant with acid.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” The Doctor caught her hand again. 

“Give me the second one.” Rose ground out. 

“Um, right,” he paused, thinking, “were you ever cut with a laser whip?”

Rose’s head shot up. “How did you--?”

“Your scan shows that it cut across here.” The Doctor reached out with his other hand and traced a line across her stomach ending below her belly button. Rose shivered. “And it means that you can’t...well, you can get… but you can’t carry…” the Doctor took a breath. “The cut went straight across your uterus, causing scar tissue, love.” 

“We can’t have kids,” Rose swallowed that fact. “I hadn’t even thought about us having kids, not really. And now…” She felt a swooping depression. The Doctor dropped his clipboard and pulled her into his lap. “I didn’t even know I wanted...I don’t know what I wanted.”

“Rose,” he breathed into her ear. “You can’t carry. It’s fine. You are healthy otherwise. We can loom. We can adopt. And I’m relieved, actually.”

“Relieved?” Rose pulled back to look into his face, a flash of confusion mixing with anger. “Why would you be relieved?”

The Doctor shrugged. “Pregnancy is a strange human thing. In this century the mortality rate for mothers is too high...”

“You don’t want kids,” Rose asked. Maybe it wasn’t so bad if they couldn’t have them if he didn’t want them.

“I didn’t say that. I said we could adopt. Or loom. But not right away. I’d have to build a loom and I’d rather have it in the Tardis. Besides, looming means you can see your baby grow. It’s fascinating. Also, you can skip ahead in development to children, not babies if you want. Or adults even...I’m not saying we’d do that. There are plenty of children out there, human or alien or mixed that we could raise if you want…” He hugged her, his voice dripping with honesty. “We have plenty of time to decide.”

“Dozens of decades,” Rose repeated with a watery laugh. “Looming? Like weaving?”

“Test tube baby--?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I haven't forgotten about this series. Been thinking about this part for a while and how to handle it. Hope you enjoyed this part. Next part will be less serious.

**Author's Note:**

> This one was started a while back and I had forgotten what the Doctor was holding back. So I slept on it, woke up with the memory of exactly where I was going with this one. lol Anyway, I know I have a lot in progress, but what's one more WIP? Enjoy. Oh, and this continues my habit of including a previous incarnation in dreams/the Doctor's mind. It's only a dream.


End file.
